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Positive Affect and College Success

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Notes

  1. The sample sizes of the referenced studies differ greatly, and the correlations reported are often quite small. Therefore, instead of using the p values reported in the studies to classify correlations between positive or negative affect and college-success variables as positive, negative, or unrelated, we used the cut-off values r =  ±.05.

    All of the works cited in this study have college-student samples except (a) an article using as respondents senior high school students from Great Britain (Cheng and Furnham 2002), (b) an article using as respondents senior high school students from Hong Kong (Kashdan and Yuen 2007), and (c) three articles reporting the results of meta-analyses that did not take into account educational level (Ackerman and Heggestad 1997; DeNeve and Cooper 1998; Wolf and Ackerman 2005).

  2. The complete “College and Beyond” survey sample included individuals from 34 institutions. Not included in this study are 9 institutions not included in “The American Freshman” survey and 4 historically black institutions. One co-educational liberal arts college (previously men only) for which “The American Freshman” survey data are available only for men is included in this study. The survey sample for 1 women’s college included entering freshmen for both 1976 and 1977; that institution is included in this study even though the “The American Freshman” survey data are available for only the 1976 entering freshmen, because it is not possible to tell with certainty to which entering class a given freshman belongs.

  3. The response rate reported for the “College and Beyond” survey was computed by dividing the number of surveys completed by the total number of individuals in the survey sample (23,597). However, some individuals could not be located either by mail or by telephone, and some are known to be deceased. If these individuals are removed from the survey sample, then the response rate for the “College and Beyond” survey is somewhat higher.

  4. The true number of individuals completing “The American Freshman” survey is higher, but some respondents could not be linked because of incomplete identifying information.

  5. We checked whether the relation between cheerfulness and each non-categorical college-success variable might be curvilinear rather than linear, as suggested by Oishi et al. (2007). None of the 43 non-categorical college-success variables shows the specific curvilinear relation to cheerfulness found by Oishi et al. (2007), although other patterns of curvilinearity are evident for some of the variables.

  6. Recall that in a 1-predictor regression, the standardized regression coefficient (β) equals the correlation.

  7. We also performed a residual-score analysis for each of the 13 matched-pairs of college-success variables in which we regressed (a) the college-success variable reported at college entry in 1976 on (b) the college-success variable recorded by the institution of matriculation or self-reported between 1995 and 1997 and (c) cheerfulness, computing the standardized regression coefficient (β) for cheerfulness. The results of these analyses are very similar to those of the difference-score analyses, except that the effect for cheerfulness is significant for all 13 analyses.

  8. Recall, though, that correlations between variables are not transitive. That variable A is positively correlated with variable B, and variable B is positively correlated with variable C, does not imply that variable A must be positively correlated with variable C, although empirically this is usually so.

  9. Similarly, Burger and Caldwell (2000) found that “trait positive affect” predicted success in college students’ job interviews beyond that predicted by extraversion.

  10. With the SAT—combined score controlled, the negative relation of cheerfulness to freshman GPA is reduced to non-significance; the positive relations of cheerfulness to graduation from the institution of matriculation and graduation on time are increased slightly (graduation: β .02 to .03; graduation on time: β .02 to .04) because of reciprocal suppression (Conger 1974; Nickerson 2008; Tzelgov and Stern 1978).

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles for providing the data for this study; Princeton University for providing computing resources; and Michael DeKay, Todd Kashdan, Nathan Kuncel, Gary McClelland, David Myers, Brent Roberts, and William Tov for interesting discussions.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Champaign, IL, 61820, USA

    Carol Nickerson

  2. Department of Psychology m/c 716, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 603 East Daniel Street, Champaign, IL, 61820, USA

    Ed Diener

  3. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Norbert Schwarz

Authors
  1. Carol Nickerson
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  2. Ed Diener
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  3. Norbert Schwarz
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ed Diener.

Appendices

Appendix 1

1.1 Description and Scaling of College-Success Variables

  1. I.

    “The College Freshman” survey database (Astin et al. 1976)

    1. A.

      Self-rated abilities

      Rate yourself on each of the following traits as you really think you are when compared with the average student of your own age.

      • Academic ability

      • Athletic ability

      • Artistic ability

      • Drive to achieve

      • Leadership ability

      • Mathematical ability

      • Mechanical ability

      • Originality

      • Public-speaking ability

      • Intellectual self-confidence

      • Writing ability

      Scale: 1 = lowest 10%, 2 = below average, 3 = average, 4 = above average, 5 = highest 10%

    2. B.

      Self-predicted likelihoods of college outcomes

      What is your best guess as to the chances that you will:

      • Change major field?

      • Change career choice?

      • Fail one or more courses?

      • Need extra time to complete your degree requirements?

      • Need tutoring in some courses?

      • Drop out of this college temporarily (exclude transferring)?

      • Drop out permanently (exclude transferring)?

      • Transfer to another college before graduating?

      • Graduate with honors?

      • Be elected to an academic honor society?

      • Make at least a “B” average?

      • Get a bachelor’s degree (B.A., B.S., etc.)?

      • Be satisfied with your college?

      Scale: 1 = no chance, 2 = very little chance, 3 = some chance, 4 = very good chance

    3. C.

      Self-stated probable major and academic-degree intentions

      • Below is a list of different undergraduate major fields …. Indicate your probable field of study.

        Scale: Respondents selected 1 major from the 77 (including “undecided”) listed.

        What is the highest academic degree that you intend to obtain?

      • Highest planned

      • Highest planned at this college

      Scale: 1 = bachelor’s degree, 2 = master’s degree, 3 = professional degree (M.D., J.D.) or doctorate

    4. D.

      Self-reported high school grade-point average

      • What was your average grade in high school?

      Scale: 1 = D, 2 = C, 3 = C+, 4  =  B−, 5 = B, 6 = B+, 7  =  A−, 8 = A or A+

  2. II.

    The institutional records database (Bowen and Bok 1998)

    1. A.

      Abilities

      Scholastic Aptitude Test

      • SAT—verbal score

      • SAT—mathematical score

      • SAT—combined score

        SAT—combined score is the sum of SAT—verbal score and

        SAT—mathematical score.

        Scale: SAT—verbal score and SAT—mathematical score: 200 to 800 by 5; SAT—combined score: 400 to 1,600 by 10

      • High school grade-point average

        Scale: 0.00 to 4.00 (or 4.00+)

    2. B.

      College outcomes

      • Actual major

        Scale: The institutional records database listed 55 different majors across the 21 institutions of matriculation.

      • Freshman college grade-point average

        Scale: 0.00 to 4.00 (or 4.00+)

      • Graduation from the institution of matriculation

        Scale: 0 = no, 1 = yes

      • Graduated on time from the institution of matriculation

        This variable was constructed by the authors from the date of graduation recorded by the institution of matriculation. The cut-off date selected was 30 June 1980.

        Scale: 0 = no, 1 = yes

      • Cumulative college grade-point average at graduation

        Scale: 0.00 to 4.00 (or 4.00+)

      • College graduation honors (Summa cum Laude, Magna cum Laude, cum Laude)

        Scale: 0 = no, 1 = yes

      • Election to Phi Beta Kappa

        Election to Phi Beta Kappa was analyzed for only those respondents who (a) graduated from the institution of matriculation and (b) stated a first or a second major in a field of study usually considered to be among the liberal arts and sciences (Phi Beta Kappa Society 1991).

        Scale: 0 = no, 1 = yes

  3. III.

    The “College and Beyond” survey database (Bowen and Bok 1998)

    1. A.

      Objective college outcomes

      • Do you have a bachelor’s degree or higher?

      • Studied toward an advanced degree

      • Earned an advanced degree

        The variables “studied toward an advanced degree” and “earned an advanced degree” were constructed by the authors from a set of variables in the “College and Beyond” database that indicated whether a respondent who had earned a bachelor’s degree from any institution had studied toward or earned a master’s degree, professional degree, or doctorate in a variety of different fields of study. Study toward or completion of a second bachelor’s degree was not counted as studying toward or earning an advanced degree.

        Scale: 0 = no, 1 = yes

    2. B.

      Subjective college outcomes

      • Satisfaction with the undergraduate education

        The “College and Beyond” survey had two slightly different wordings for this variable:

        1. (a)

          Overall, how satisfied have you been with your undergraduate education?

        2. (b)

          Overall, how satisfied have you been with the undergraduate education you received at the school at which you first enrolled?

        This difference in wordings was ignored in the analysis.

        Scale: 1 = very satisfied, 2 = somewhat satisfied, 3 = neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, 4 = somewhat dissatisfied, 5 = dissatisfied

        This scale was reversed for use in the analysis.

        Imagine that you had your life to live over again and were graduating from high school. Knowing what you do now, how likely is it that you would:

      • Choose the same undergraduate school?

      • Major in the same field of study?

        Scale: 1 = very likely, 2 = somewhat likely, 3 = not at all likely

        This scale was reversed for use in the analyses.

Note: The scales for some college-success variables were altered from those in the linked databases for use in the analyses. The details of these rescalings are available from the authors.

Appendix 2

2.1 Matched Pairs of College-Success Variables

If possible, a college-success variable self-reported by the respondent at college entry in 1976 (“The American Freshman” database) was matched to a college-success variable recorded by the institution of matriculation (the institutional records database) or self-reported by the respondent between 1995 and 1997 (the “College and Beyond” database). The 13 matched college-success variables and their sources are listed below.

Academic ability

College entry::

self-rated academic ability

Institution::

SAT—combined score

Mathematical ability

College entry::

self-rated mathematical ability

Institution::

SAT—mathematical score

Verbal ability

College entry::

self-rated writing ability

Institution::

SAT—verbal score

High school grade-point average

College entry::

self-reported high school grade-point average

Institution::

high school grade-point average

At least a “B” average for freshman year

College entry::

self-predicted likelihood of making at least a “B” average

Institution::

freshman college grade-point average (rescaled no: 0 = 0.00 to 2.99; yes: 1 = 3.00 to 4.00 (or 4.00+))

Earned bachelor’s degree at institution of matriculation

College entry::

self-predicted likelihood of getting a bachelor’s degree

Institution::

graduation from the institution of matriculation

Graduated on time

College entry::

self-predicted likelihood of needing extra time to complete your degree requirements (scale reversed)

Institution::

graduated on time

At least a “B” average at graduation

College entry::

self-predicted likelihood of making at least a “B” average

Institution::

cumulative college grade-point average at graduation (rescaled no: 0 = 0.00 to 2.99; yes: 1 = 3.00 to 4.00 (or 4.00+))

Graduation honors

College entry::

self-predicted likelihood of graduating with honors

Institution::

college graduation honors (Summa cum Laude, Magna cum Laude, cum Laude)

Honor society

College entry::

self-predicted likelihood of being elected to an academic honor society

Institution::

election to Phi Beta Kappa

Earned bachelor’s degree at any institution

College entry::

self-predicted likelihood of getting a bachelor’s degree

Institution and 1995–1997::

graduation from the institution of matriculation, or self-reported earned a bachelor’s degree at any institution

Earned advanced degree

College entry::

self-reported highest academic degree intended (rescaled no: 0 = bachelor’s degree; yes: 1 = master’s degree, professional degree, or doctorate)

1995–1997::

self-reported earned advanced degree

College satisfaction

College entry::

self-predicted likelihood of being satisfied with your college

1995–1997::

self-reported satisfaction with the undergraduate education

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Nickerson, C., Diener, E. & Schwarz, N. Positive Affect and College Success. J Happiness Stud 12, 717–746 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-010-9224-8

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